A little mid-week weather interrupted Northern New Jersey’s regularly scheduled fishing program, but with a good forecast for the weekend, the fall run should pick up right where it left off.
Bottom fishing is very good reported Captain Steve from Skylarker Sportfishing. Steve has been enjoying a strong pick of hubcap-sized porgies to 4 pound, black sea bass to 5 pounds, and a smattering of cod and ling at depths from 100 to 125 feet. On some structure between 80 and 120 feet, Steve is finding slammer blues between 15 and 18 pounds. The bluefish are hitting both chunks and jigs, but anchoring over the structure and chumming has been creating a feeding frenzy right at the boat. Striper fishing is just getting going, Steve said, and should continue to improve.
Striper fishing was good on Flynn’s and Romer shoals this week, reported the crew at Julian’s Bait and Tackle. Romer’s had been especially good with bass 30 inches and up. Live eels have been working well, but trolling is also producing. The usual bunker spoons have been catching fish, but Mojo Rigs are working as well. These rigs were developed for trophy stripers in the Chesapeake Bay, and northern anglers have been slowly catching on to their effectiveness. For a tutorial on Mojo Rigs, check out the October Issue of On The Water Magazine.
Surf fishing has been good from Sandy Hook to Monmouth Beach reported Tom at Giglio’s. Tom weighed in the biggest bass of the season for Giglio’s on Sunday, a 48-pounder that hit a snagged bunker. And it came from the surf! Tom said a number of tactics worked this week including swimming plugs, bucktails and pencil poppers. There are still plenty of stripers in the river, Tom said, and they have been hitting sandworms and topwaters.
Jim at Harry’s Army Navy has been hitting the surf hard and finding consistent action with schoolie stripers. He hasn’t seen any bluefish in the surf, but said good numbers of hickory shad have been around. The hickories can be caught on small jigs, but they really go crazy for small teasers fished ahead of the plug. The bait in the surf has mainly been rainfish with some sand eels as well. Offshore, boat fishermen are finding bigger bass feeding on adult bunker.
Jim also said the freshwater fishing has been good with largemouth bass still striking topwater lures. With water temperatures in the lakes falling, crappie fishing has been superb. The pickerel bite is also hot with fish striking spinnerbaits, spoons, and, of course, live shiners.
According to the report from the Bait Shop in Bradley Beach, fishing off the beach has been tough, but stripers have been turning up regularly in Shark River Inlet. There fishermen are having luck using siwm shads before first light and just after dark.
Miss Belmar Princess has been finding great mixed bag action off Shark River Inlet, with trips returning with jumbo sea bass and slammer blues.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Big stripers are out there, with most of the very large fish coming in and around the bunker schools. In the surf, the area from Sandy Hook to Monmouth Beach was producing best early this week, but after the storm, the fish could have relocated. Be ready to be mobile, pack a variety of lures to imitate anything from sand eels to big bunker, and don’t forget the snag hooks in case the bunker moved within range.
The mixed bag of monster blues, dinner-plate porgies, and humphead sea bass in the 80- to 120-foot depths makes taking a party boat trip a tempting offer right now. The striper fishing will most likely improve, but you’re odds of hooking a 20-pound bluefish may be at their greatest this weekend.
Happy Halloween.